Tag 42: Easter Island - World of Moai

In the middle of the southeastern Pacific, about 4,000 kilometers from the Chilean coast and around 4,250 kilometers from Tahiti, lies Easter Island (Rapa Nui). In the main town of Hanga Roa, on the southern west coast of the 160 square kilometer island, there are about 6,000 people. Half of the inhabitants are from Chile and the other half are from the island's indigenous people, the Rapa Nui. Although Easter Island belongs to Chile politically, it is geographically and culturally part of Polynesia.

The island's main attractions are its famous stone statues, the Moai. It is still not fully understood when exactly the mighty stone giants were created and why they were made. It is assumed that they were made from around 400 AD to worship tribal chiefs and ancestors by the Rapa Nui, and were considered a link between this world and the world of the afterlife. The Moai were always part of a ceremonial complex. Standing up to 10 meters high and weighing 100 tons, they face away from the sea and gaze inland. The largest ceremonial complex ever built is Ahu Tongariki in the Hotu Bay. Archaeological findings suggest that up to 33 Moai once stood on different Ahu platforms at this site in ancient times. In the 17th century, there were still 15 Moai figures here, but they were knocked over in 1680 and completely washed inland by a tsunami on May 23, 1960. After the reconstruction of the complex in 1993, 15 Moai can now be visited. The smallest is 5.4 meters high and the largest figure is 14 meters. A single Moai stands apart from the other figures. Thor Heyerdahl had local islanders erect this Moai during his first expedition between 1955 and 1956. It is also the only Moai that has ever left the island (for the World Exhibition in Osaka 1970) and been brought back. That's why it is nicknamed "The Travelling Moai". Close to this famous sacred site is the "birthplace" of all the stone giants - the volcanic cone of Rano Raraku. All the Moai on the island were manufactured in the quarry crater here and transported from this location. Even today, there are almost 400 statues here that were not completed.

Great disappointment, this morning. The captain had to inform us that the local authorities have denied the ship from landing due to COVID cases on board. The plan now is to raise anchor in an hour and sail around Easter Island. The internet connection still doesn't work. Accordingly, the mood on the ship is currently very low.

We only have the opportunity to sail around the island. In doing so, we can at least see the Moai of Ahu Tongariki from a distance. But we find the situation very unsatisfactory.